The present inventions pertains to a paper stop or abutment for the edge of an inclined table or similar surface for preventing papers and similar materials from sliding off the surface and, in particular, to a repositionable paper stop which may be manually inverted to move from an active to an inactive position.
It is well known to provide inclined planar working surfaces, such as desks, tables, lecterns and the like with a raised lower edge portion to retain papers, books, writing implements and the like from sliding or rolling off the inclined surface. Many such paper stops or similar abutments are permanently attached to the edge of the planar surface and, as a result, sometimes interfere with the effective use of the surface, as for drawing or writing, by presenting an obstruction to the flush placement of the user's arms on the surface. As a result, it is known to provide the inclined or tiltable surface of a table, desk or the like with a movable or repositionable paper stop which can be moved between a paper retaining position and an inactive position where the stop does not extend above the inclined or tiltable surface.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,986,193 discloses a paper stop which is slidably mounted in a slot in the table top against the bias of compression springs which normally bias the stop bar upwardly into an active position above the surface of the table, but which may be manually depressed downwardly into the slot under the weight of the user's arm. An alternate embodiment provides a continuous elastically yieldable strip which is compressible under the weight of the user's arm.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,437,411 shows a paper stop which is movable vertically between flush and raised positions with respect to the table surface and in which the stop is held in either position by horizontal pins extending from the edge of the table through slots in the stop bar.
U.S. Patent No. 1,314,060 shows a stop bar in the form of a strip which is rotatably attached to the front edge of a drawing board or table for rotation about a center pivot to present either a top edge raised above the table surface or a top edge flush with the table surface.
The first above-identified patent requires the active engagement by the arms of the user to depress the paper stop, and the other two patents require special pinned connections to facilitate movement of the stop bar between its active and inactive positions. Further, the two last mentioned patents include stop bars which are attached to the front edge face of the table and, in their inactive positions, extend below the undersurface of the table.